


noble lineage

by elinciacrimea



Series: a gentle sunlight [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Adoption, Bad Future/Lucina's Timeline, Established Relationship, F/F, Family, Pre-Canon, or post-canon??? what is Lucina's timeline even considered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 04:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18491260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elinciacrimea/pseuds/elinciacrimea
Summary: Maribelle and Lissa find something unexpected in the wreckage of a Themis village, and a new story begins.





	noble lineage

The late spring air tastes like ash, blood and soot. The battle's over, the Risen are routed, but nobody's celebrating.

They were too late. By the time Lissa's squad had arrived, the tiny village on the outskirts of Themis had already been a ghost town. The Shepherds had failed. _They_ had failed.

Maribelle sighs heavily as she tugs her dirtied gloves off, finger-by-finger, and stows them in the pocket of her riding breeches. It's been a dreadful day.

"You okay?" Lissa walks up beside her, digging her axe into the ground and leaning on the handle. Despite the nonchalance of her words, her eyes are gentle. "I can heal you, if you need…"

"I am unhurt." Maribelle gives her horse's mane an absent-minded pet. "Have we found any survivors?"

"Sumia's doing another sweep." Lissa shades her eyes with a hand as she looks over the ruined houses. "But...it's not looking good. I'm sorry, Maribelle."

"It's not your fault. Certainly not any more than mine."

"But…"

Maribelle forces a smile that she knows is more of a grimace. "I'm afraid we weren't careful enough. The Risen attacks have been getting more and more brazen of late. We should have better fortified the border. That is the duty of House Themis...and we did not fulfill it."

Lissa takes her wife's hand and presses it between both of hers. "You can't blame yourself for this. Or...or anyone, really. Just the Risen and the Grimleal."

Maribelle doesn't trust herself to answer. It's sad how disconnected she's becoming from scenes like this. It feels like the last several years have been nothing but endless war and struggling. Ever since Exalt Emmeryn was assassinated, it had just been one battle after another. Her and Lissa's wedding a few years ago was one of the precious few bright spots in all the gloom. But as the Risen attacks increase in power and frequency, they're slowly starting to encroach on Ylisse's borders, and the Shepherds are stretched too thin. Chrom's back in the capital, Frederick took a squad to help Khan Flavia in the north, and she and Lissa had raced to Themis as soon as the distress call sounded...but it hadn't been enough. And now one of the villages under Maribelle's father's protection, under _Maribelle's_ protection, has been wiped off the map.

It's a failure, even if Lissa won't let her say so.

Maribelle swallows hard, looking up at one of the bigger houses standing nearby. Lissa follows her gaze. "Is that...where your uncle lived?"

"Yes...I've only been a few times." Maribelle walks slowly towards the rather battered-looking building, and Lissa falls into step with her. "My father and Uncle Thomas were cordial enough, but we didn't see much of each other. My cousin was married about a year ago, and I sent a small gift, but we were too busy to attend."

Lissa tightens her grip on Maribelle's hand. "Do you really want to go in there?"

"Yes. My father deserves to hear my own account." The door is hanging off its hinges. Hardly a good sign. Still, Maribelle pushes the wreck out of the way and both women step inside.

There was a fight here. A couch is overturned, a vase shattered, knickknacks strewn about the floor, and the staircase is completely crushed. Shards of glass and porcelain crunch under their boots, forming a fine powder over a red-stained carpet.

The stain comes from a pair of twisted bodies lying on the floor.

Lissa inhales sharply, but Maribelle doesn't visibly react to the faint, dull twist in her gut. She doesn't need to check for a pulse - she can see the faces of the older couple, and there's simply no chance they're still living.

"Are they…" Lissa whispers.

"Yes, I can recognize them. My uncle and his wife."

Lissa doesn't try apologizing again, just kneels down and gently closes both figures' eyes. Maribelle watches her, still feeling oddly detached and wooden. She probably ought to cry. Her few memories of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Claire are positive ones. And many people had talked about her uncle marrying a woman well below his station and moving to her hometown with her - a story her father held up as an example of how true nobility came from bearing, not blood, and how love and happiness could be found anywhere.

But it feels like only a tiny part of Maribelle is standing in the wreck of a village of her own people, people she didn't help in time. The rest of her is observing from above, like she's in the balcony of a theater during a play, watching tiny, unfamiliar figures live out their lives...

Lissa is getting to her feet. "Did anyone else live here? You said you had a cousin?"

Maribelle shakes herself. "Ah, yes. Their son, Brendan, still resided with them, I believe. And his wife. We should...look for them."

"There's a door back here…also broken." Lissa steps carefully around the corpses and through the door. "Ah…"

"More bodies?" says Maribelle tiredly, following. She expects it, and it's sad how routine it's becoming. Even when it's her own relatives.

"Yeah...a man and a woman." Lissa nods. "And, um...it's kind of a mess in here."

Maribelle enters the little kitchen, and blinks. There are two bodies, like Lissa said, and...the ceiling's half caved in, planks of wood scattered across the floor. Jars and pots of food are smashed, their contents mixing with the blood on the wooden floor. The air reeks of decay.

Lissa shakes her head, bending over the bodies. "They're both gone."

"It must be Brendan and…" Maribelle sighs. "I don't even recall his wife's name. I know I saw it on the invitation, but I never met her."

"Don't worry about etiquette."

"The poor woman deserves to at least be remembered." Maribelle squints up at the hole in the roof. "It seems someone fired a tome? Look at the edges…"

Lissa follows her gaze. "You're right...it's all charred up. A fire tome, I guess?"

"Yes…"

"Oh! The lady's got one. There's one on the floor, here." Lissa crouches. "And...hold on... _that's_ where that gross smell's coming from. There's a Risen corpse under all the mess, see?" She points, and Maribelle sees a purple arm sticking out from under the wood pile.

"I suppose she put up a fight," says Maribelle, her voice flat and dull. "I wish it had been enough."

"Yeah…" Lissa wipes her hands on her apron as she straightens up. "I guess...we're done here. Should I go get Sully? To, you know...move them?"

"Mmm." Maribelle nods, looking around the kitchen one last time.

As Lissa turns away, a sound floats on the edge of Maribelle's consciousness. It's so jarring, so unexpected, so out of place, that it barely registers at first. Then it comes again, louder this time, knocking Maribelle out of her detached, drifting thoughts, back down to earth.

"Lissa, wait!" Maribelle bursts out, and her wife freezes an inch from the door. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Listen!" Maribelle screws her eyes shut, focusing. Yes, she can definitely hear it.

Lissa is quiet for a few moments as she concentrates, and then gasps. "Is that - a - "

"Yes!" Maribelle's eyes fly open. She doesn't have to say anything more as she and Lissa immediately overturn the kitchen, scrambling through the wreckage.

Lissa lifts an overturned table. "Where is it?"

"I think it was behind the rubble!" Maribelle clambers up onto the pile of roof shards, and they groan underneath her. "Here…" She slides down the other end, towards a heavy, time-worn storage cabinet. The sound is definitely getting louder as she approaches it. Her hand shakes as she reaches out and wrenches the door open with a massive creak.

It's a deep-set cabinet, with an assortment of herbs and spices stored inside. But nestled among the little glass jars, swaddled tightly in a fuzzy blue blanket, is…a baby. A squalling baby, whose feeble little whimpers are becoming full-fledged wails the more he gets going.

Maribelle knocks over and shatters a jar of garlic bulbs as she hastily reaches into the cabinet and scoops the child out. He screams more, screwing his eyes up against the sudden light. Maribelle nestles him against her chest, attempting to soothe him.

"Oh my gosh!" There's a clatter behind Maribelle as Lissa makes it over the wreckage and rushes up alongside her. "Is it okay?"

Maribelle rocks the baby awkwardly as he continues to cry. "I'm not sure...here, look him over while I hold him steady…"

"Oh, isn't he precious?" Lissa cooes as she unwraps the blanket. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Shh, dear…" Maribelle brushes back the baby's small tuft of blonde hair with a shaking hand. "No need for tears, now."

The baby's eyes are screwed tightly shut, his face bright pink with the exertion of his misery. He's definitely very young - Maribelle doesn't consider herself an expert, but she would assume he's a few months old at the most. Most of her knowledge of children is more on the medical side of things, limited to forms of disease and safe handling of newborns moreso than things like comfort and play. He doesn't seem to be hurt, though, merely cranky. At least, she hopes.

Lissa checks over the baby's limbs and blows a raspberry on his stomach.

"Was that last part strictly necessary, Lissa?"

"Aw, but he's so squishy!" Lissa giggles. "Look at his little fingers and toesies…"

"Lissa, darling, did you just say 'toesies?'"

"Er…"

"I distinctly recall your reaction when your brother said the same thing about his daughter a few years ago."

"Uhhh...hey, look, he's perfectly healthy! Isn't that great?" Lissa rewraps the baby's swaddling. "There you go, sweetie! Everything's gonna be just fine now, let's just take you home to...home to…"

The mood in the room falls once again. Maribelle is suddenly acutely aware of the corpses of the child's parents lying mere yards away.

"...Why don't we take him outside?" Maribelle suggests. The baby's crying has quieted a little thanks to Lissa's ministrations, but he continues to fuss in her arms. "Fresh air would do us all good."

"All right." Lissa pushes open the half-stuck back door, and the three of them head out into the yard. "I wonder how he survived? Risen can usually tell where people are, even if they can't see them..."

"I suspect it was a combination of luck and his parents' quick thinking," says Maribelle slowly, thinking over the scene in the kitchen. "I don't know if his mother brought the ceiling down deliberately - I suspect not - but the wreckage likely slowed down any Risen approaching the cabinet where he had been hidden. And then we arrived, drawing the monsters' attention to a larger target, so they left him be."

"Well, I'm glad he's okay anyway." Lissa takes a deep breath of the yard's somewhat better-smelling air. "Um...but what are we going to do about him?"

Maribelle sighs. "I haven't the foggiest. I'll speak with my father and see if there are any remaining relatives on our side of the family, but I believe the baby's mother's family all lived here. So…"

"Yeah." Lissa leans over to stroke the baby's forehead. "Another orphan...poor little guy."

Maribelle frowns down at the child. He's starting to settle, curling himself up against her chest. As she watches, he opens his eyes for the first time and looks right at her.

They're dark pinkish-red, that odd, unique color always considered the signature of House Themis. But it's not that that catches Maribelle's attention. Rather, it's that they're looking right into hers, innocent and trusting. Maribelle's heart twists, and an idea comes to her.

"...Lissa, dear?"

"Yes?"

"This sounds...a bit silly. And we'll have to see if he has any remaining relatives first, of course. And make proper arrangements."

"What d'you mean?"

"Perhaps…" Maribelle draws a deep breath. "Perhaps we could...raise him ourselves?"

Lissa's mouth falls open. Several seconds go by.

"I mean," says Maribelle, "if you'd rather not, of course...it's just that we had been discussing such matters recently, and several of our peers are having children of their own, and it seems like an appropriate time, and we certainly have a lot of love to give…"

Lissa clasps her hands together, her eyes wide. "You mean it? You really, really mean it? He'd be our baby?"

"Well, yes, if everything works out, as I said..."

Lissa presses her fingers to her mouth, tears shining in her eyes. "That would be...I'd love that. I really would. I really want to."

"Oh, good." Relief fills Maribelle's chest. "I thought you'd like the idea, but I wasn't certain…"

Lissa crooks a finger under Maribelle's chin and presses a brief, tender kiss to her lips. When they part, she's wearing a smile as bright as the sun. "Let's do it, then."

Maribelle can't help smiling back. "For now, we should go meet up with the others."

"'Kay!" Lissa takes Maribelle's arm. "Come along, my lady. And bring your adorable cargo."

Maribelle shakes her head, but her smile gives away her true feelings. "Of course, darling." They start the walk back to the town square.

Lissa's tone is soft, respectful for the circumstances, but she's still radiating excitement. "What'll we name him?"

"Assuming we can't find out what his name was...I'm not certain. I'll give it some thought."

"You can pick if you want. I'll name the next one!"

"Next one? Goodness."

"I'm kidding! Kind of. I'd like a bunch!"

"We'll start with this one, all right?"

"Of course, of course." Lissa pecks Maribelle on the cheek. "Hey, which of us'll be Mama and which'll be Mommy?"

"I will be Mother."

"That's a lot to ask a toddler to say."

"We'll work on it."

They approach the town square, where the others are bringing in bodies, lining them up and covering them carefully with sheets. Sully sees them approaching and turns around. "How'd it go?"

"There's four bodies in that house back there," says Maribelle, gesturing with her head. "And, well...one survivor."

"Is...that a baby?" Sully blinks.

"Yes. His family's...well." Maribelle gives the bundle another gentle rock. "We're going to take him back and speak with my father to see if he has any surviving relatives."

"Aw, he's darling," Sumia cooes, coming over to them. "I think he's about Kjelle's age."

"He is a cute little guy," Sully agrees. "Hey, he looks kinda like you, Maribelle."

"Well, we are cousins, I suppose." Maribelle had half-forgotten that fact herself.

"Second cousins, right? Or was it first cousins once removed…" Lissa screws up her forehead, thinking. "I can never remember. Either way...it might not matter, if you end up being his…"

"We'll see." Maribelle shakes her head, smiling. Sully and Sumia exchange a confused glance. "Regardless, I think it would be best if we start heading for my father's house. I don't want to keep the baby out here on a battlefield."

"You two can ride ahead, then, and we'll finish up here," Sully offers. "We'll meet up once we're done."

"That would be very kind of you." Maribelle carefully adjusts the baby in her arms. "I shall inform my father of what has transpired here, and he'll send some men to assist with the transport and burial of the bodies."

Sully nods. "See you later, then. Have a good trip." She salutes to them both and then both she and Sumia return to their work.

Maribelle and Lissa walk back to where Maribelle's horse is tethered. Maribelle passes the baby to Lissa while she climbs up on her horse, and then takes him back, adjusting him carefully to ensure a secure hold.

Lissa climbs up in front of her to take the reins. "You good back there?"

"Yes." Maribelle shifts in the saddle, securing herself. It's designed for two, a practical choice for a valkyrie whose duties involve transport of the injured. "He's starting to doze off."

"Aww," Lissa cooes. "I wonder if he'll like horseback riding? We could get him a nice friendly pony..."

"One thing at a time, dear." Lissa kicks the horse's sides, and they set off through the ruined village. "We don't even know for certain if we'll be adopting him yet."

"I know, I know." Lissa looks over her shoulder and gives them a quick smile. "You two look sweet together, though. You're a natural."

Maribelle feels her cheeks color in spite of herself. "I hardly think so. I'll need to do quite a bit of reading if we're really going to be raising a child."

"Reading's your solution to everything!" Lissa kisses her nose before turning to face forward again.

"It's a good solution." Maribelle looks down at the baby. He's fallen asleep against her, ignorant of the horse's jostling, his little chest fluttering with each breath. It stirs an unfamiliar warmth in Maribelle's heart, a gentle, burning flame.

They're surrounded by death and despair, caught in a war that never seems to end. But this child...she's not certain what the future holds, but she has every intention of making his a beautiful one.

\---

"Hey, Brady?"

"No, I don't wanna play Justice Cabal. Scram."

"Oh, you're busy?"

"What's it look like? Ya think I'm holdin' this violin just for show?"

"Aw, but it's just one question…"

"Ask someone else. I wanna have this piece ready by tomorrow."

"I asked Uncle Chrom, but he turned all red and said to ask our moms. And Ma's in her office and Mom's in the infirmary…"

"So you're buggin' me?"

"Pretty please, O Divinely Blessed Big Brother, Holder of Wisdom and Secret Knowledge..."

"Fine, fine, quit yer yammering. What's the question?"

"Where do babies come from?"

"Er..."

"You don't know?"

"Well, I'm not really sure, but...I think Ma once said she found me in a cabinet."

"...What?"

**Author's Note:**

> And then Brady and Owain got an actual explanation on the various ways of obtaining and creating babies as well as their own specific origins, because Maribelle is never one to pass up a learning opportunity.
> 
> Also, I don't mean to imply that Brady is adopted because he and Maribelle act so differently! I just like the idea of Maribelle having adopted him and wanted to explore it. I also headcanon Brady as adopting several kids in the good timeline post-game.
> 
> Title is the name of Brady's paralogue in FE13. Thank you for reading!


End file.
